Web Programming

Photoshop Elements 4: The Missing Manual (Missing Manual)

Format: Paperback
Author: Barbara Brundage
ReleaseDate: 01 October, 2005
Publisher: Pogue Press
Rating:

Manual for Photoshop Elements $
Exactly what I expected. It was brand new and undamaged.

Book shows you don't need a Hummer to drive to work
But Photoshop has some big drawbacks--it's very hard to master, it's horribly expensive, and many of the features in it are just plain overkill if you don't plan to work on pictures for a living. Adobe's Photoshop is the granddaddy of all image-editing programs. For several years, Adobe tried to find a way to cram many of Photoshop's marvelous powers into a package that normal people could use. Photoshop Elements offers much of the power of Photoshop in a program that almost anyone can learn to use. I'm a big fan of the Missing Manual series, and this book retains the excellence I've come to expect in the series. Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I discuss this book in the context of the table of contents:

Chapter 1 - "Finding Your Way Around Elements", helps get you oriented in Elements starting with the Welcome Screen. You'll learn about what to expect when you start up the program and how to use Elements to fix your photos with just a couple of keystrokes.

Chapter 2 - "Importing and Managing Your Photos" shows you how to import your photos from cameras, digital card readers, and scanners. You'll also find out how to import individual frames from videos, how to open files that are already on your computer, and how to create a new file from scratch. After that, you'll learn how to use the Organizer to sort and find your pictures once they're in Elements.

Chapter 3 - "Rotating, Resizing, and Saving" looks at how to trim off unwanted areas, straighten out crooked photos, and save your files. You'll also learn how to change the overall size of your images and how to zoom in and out, to get a better look at things while you're editing.

Chapter 4 - "The Quick Fix" shows how to use "The Quick Fix Window", which gathers together easy-to-use tools that can help you adjust the brightness and color of your photos and make them look sharper.

Chapter 5 - "Making Selections" shows you how to select part of your image and make changes only to that area. You can select your entire image or any part of it.

Chapter 6 - "Layers: The Heart of Elements" shows how to keep your changes and still revert to the original image by using layers, which is a system of transparent sheets that keep each element of your image on a separately editable sliver. By putting each change you make on its own layer, you can constantly rearrange the composition of your image, or add and subtract changes whenever you want.

Chapter 7 - "Basic Image Retouching" guides you through fixing basic exposure problems, new ways of sharpening your photos, and most important, understanding how Elements can improve the colors in your photos.

Chapter 8 - "Elements for Digital Photographers" shows you how to use a collection of advanced tools pulled straight from Photoshop. You learn how to use the RAW Converter, Photo Filter, and Batch File Processor.

Chapter 9 - "Retouching 102: Fine-Tuning Your Images" introduces you to some advanced editing maneuvers that will greatly help you either rescue damaged photos or give good ones some added style. Techniques include eliminating dust, scratches, stains, and other photographic imperfections.

Chapter 10 - "Creating Panoramas and Transforming Images" shows how to use the Photomerge command, which allows you to stitch together a group of photos that you've taken while panning across the horizon.

Chapter 11 - "Drawing with Brushes, Shapes, and Other Tools" shows how you can paint with lots of things besides color - such as lights or shadows, for example. In Elements, when you want to apply an effect in a precise manner, you're often going to use some sort of brush to do it.

Chapter 12 - "Filters, Effects, Layer Styles, and Gradients" discusses special tools that will have people thinking you're a better artist than you actually are. These are largely tools for turning a photo into an artistic work - say, a watercolor for example.

Chapter 13 - "Type in Elements" is about adding text to your photos. You will learn how to create all kinds of fancy text to use on greeting cards, newsletter headlines, or graphics for Web pages.

Chapter 14 - "Printing Your Photos" covers printing your photos at home on an inkjet printer, taking them to a printing kiosk at a local store, or using an online printing service. You'll learn how to interface to Kodak's EasyShare Gallery, Adobe's online printing partner.

Chapter 15 - "Elements and the Web" shows you how to share your photos online, send your photos to cellphones, and transmit them to Palm-based handhelds.

Chapter 16 - "HTML Photo Galleries and Slideshows" discusses creating HTML Photo Galleries, collections of ready-made Web pages featuring all the photos you want to display. You'll also learn how Elements helps you put together digital slideshows, complete with fancy between-photo transitions and audio.

Chapter 17 - "Beyond the Basics" discusses adding new brush shapes, Layer styles, and fancy filters. Also discussed are free add-on features already available on the web. This chapter also discusses how to know when you really do need the full version of Photoshop instead. You'll also learn about the many resources available for expanding your knowledge of Elements beyond this book.

As you can see, Photoshop Elements 4 is a very complete image processing package, and this book is a very accessible guide to discovering all of its aspects. I make daily use of this manual and recommend it highly.


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Elements 4: The Missing Manual
Even factory manuals are printed in black and white most of the time. The one thing I'm always happy to see is that the manual is printed in color. The material was well written and easy to understand. Many helpful hints were included, which factory manuals don't often include. The book assumes you have a general knowledge of computers and basic photographic programs. Although I haven't finished the book yet or experimented with all features available to the user through this book, I can see that 'Photoshop Elements: The Missing Manual' is essential for anyone having this program.